1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a stowage piece for securing the position of containers on board ships to a stowage piece for securing the position of containers on board ships, having an abutment, in particular a plate-like abutment, to be arranged at least partly between corner fittings of containers located one above another, and at least two stowage cones arranged on opposite sides of the abutment; and to a stowage piece for securing the position of containers on board ships, having an abutment and having at least two stowage cones arranged on opposite sides of the abutment.
2. Prior Art
Stowage pieces of the type discussed here are used for securing containers against displacement on board ships. In particular, the position of containers stowed below decks is secured with such stowage pieces, in order that the said containers cannot be displaced in the horizontal direction by more than a permissible amount. The stowage pieces are arranged between corner fittings of containers stacked one above another, specifically without connecting the containers in the vertical direction. Displacement of the containers in the horizontal direction is prevented by the stowage pieces, on the one hand by the fact that their stowage cones engage in adjacent corner fittings of containers stacked one above another, so that the containers are secured against mutual displacement in the stack. Furthermore, the containers of adjacent stacks are supported against each other, specifically depending on the manner of stowage in the longitudinal direction of the ship or in the transverse direction of the ship.
Known stowage pieces of this type are arranged between the individual containers in such a way that they are inserted into the upper corner fittings of containers already located (stowed) on board, and the upper containers are then placed on these, the stowage pieces coming into engagement with the lower corner fittings of the upper containers. This type of stowage requires the use of auxiliary personnel in the hold. The auxiliary personnel are at risk in the hold for various reasons. Therefore, more recent international regulations relating to health and safety at work permit the use of auxiliary personnel in the hold only on a conditional basis.
On the basis of the above, the invention is now based on the object of providing stowage pieces which permit the simple and quick stowage of containers correspondingly secured in position on board ships, whilst complying with the appropriate (international) safety regulations.
A stowage piece to achieve this object has the features of claim 1. By means of the locking means assigned to one stowage cone and the rotation of the same into a locking and unlocking position by means of rotation of the opposite stowage cone, it is possible to pre-lock the stowage piece under the respective lower corner fitting of a container on land. The stowage pieces no longer need to be put in place by auxiliary personnel in the hold on, for example, containers that have already been stowed, before the next container is loaded.
According to a development of the stowage piece, the locking means, preferably a cross-latch, can be secured in the locking position by a locking means. The locking means is preferably designed such that it secures the lower rotatable stowage cone transferring the locking means into the locking position against being rotated. This lower stowage cone is freely accessible under the lower corner fittings of upper containers when the stowage piece is being pre-locked. The locking means can be designed in a wide range of ways. They preferably ensure force-fitting locking of the locking means (cross-latch) in at least the locking position.
According to a preferred configuration of the stowage piece, the locking means is arranged in a recess in the rotatable (lower) stowage cone. In this recess, the locking means is not only easily accessible; it may also be accommodated here so as to be protected against damage.
According to a development of the stowage piece according to the invention, which may be capable of independent protection, provision is made for the plate-like abutment between the opposite stowage cones to be assigned a centre piece, which is preferably connected to the abutment permanently and/or in one piece. The centre part is designed in such a way that it engages in a slot in a corner fitting arranged under that side of the abutment which is provided with the centre part and belonging to a container. The height of the centre part is in this case dimensioned such that it extends only over part of the overall depth of the slot. The other part of the slot is then filled by an upper section of the rotatable stowage cone, preferably a cone head. For this purpose, the centre part is assigned to that side of the abutment on which the rotatable stowage cone is located. The fact that both the centre part that is permanently connected to the abutment, and an upper part of the rotatable stowage cone, are located in the slot in the relevant corner fitting of a container means that the forcible rotation of the rotatable stowage cone in the slot in the corner fitting is avoided. By means of the force-fitting rotational securing, produced in this way, of the rotatable (lower) stowage cone, and the locking means (cross-latch) operatively connected thereto, the locking means is secured against the inadvertent detachment of the stowage piece from the lower corner fitting under overloading.
A further stowage piece for achieving the object mentioned at the beginning has the features of claim 5. According to this, the abutment is assigned a spacer between upright side faces of the containers or corner fittings, respectively. This spacer projects laterally with respect to a relevant wall of the container, which makes it possible to provide support in the horizontal direction against adjacent containers. Such supports are used, in particular, for so-called block stowage.
According to a preferred configuration of the invention, the distance piece has a thickness which corresponds approximately to half the spacing or interspace between mutually facing sides, in particular of the corner fittings, of adjacent containers. In this way, two stowage pieces between adjacent container stacks supplement each other, in that they together approximately bridge the spacing or interspace between adjacent container stacks and, as a result, support the containers in the horizontal direction against. compressive loads.
A further stowage piece for achieving the object mentioned at the beginning has the features of claim 15. This has a distance piece with a thickness which corresponds approximately to half the spacing (interspace) between mutually oriented sides of adjacent containers, in particular their corner fittings. If such stowage pieces are assigned to mutually oriented corner fittings on the sides of containers or container stacks located beside each other, they together approximately fill the spacing between adjacent side faces of the corresponding corner fittings, as a result of which block stowage of the containers in the longitudinal direction or transversely thereto below the deck of a ship can be brought about without separate means, in particular known compression pieces, which can therefore be eliminated by the stowage pieces according to the invention.